Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M Part 7

They walk in silence for a moment, Holly carrying the cat.

HOLLY(In a small voice)Darling?PAULYeah?HOLLYDo you think Sam would be a nice name for a cat?

As they continue to walk up the street- FADE OUTTHE END.

That was it. But Blake couldn't hear the music swell, he couldn't see Paul and Holly pushed to the brink of their pa.s.sions and beliefs, and without that eleventh-hour twist, the whole mechanism would just sputter to a halt. What it needed was some kind of imperative, the feeling of high tension followed by a crucial snap. Holly's mask ought to be ripped off her face.

All right, Blake thought, this is a scene about Holly's change of heart. She was once an independent, a free spirit, and now she wants to belong. The business of naming the cat comes to represent that transformation, sure, but this isn't La.s.sie; La.s.sie; it's a love story between a man and a woman, so why play the climactic scene between her and an animal? Play it instead between the two of them, and that line about belonging, put it in Paul's mouth. it's a love story between a man and a woman, so why play the climactic scene between her and an animal? Play it instead between the two of them, and that line about belonging, put it in Paul's mouth.

PAULYou know what's wrong with you, Miss Whoever-you-are? You're chicken, you've got no guts. You're afraid to stick out your chin and say, "Okay, life's a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness." You call yourself a free spirit, a "wild thing," and you're terrified somebody's gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you're already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it's not bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by Somali-land. It's wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.

Now there's drama. Now there's a question in the air. Will she go with him or won't she?

The new pages were dated September 14, 1960, written six weeks after Axelrod's final draft. In the big speech, the scene's centerpiece, Blake recapitulated the image of the cage, which he featured in the first shot of the party sequence. He added the rain, changed the limousine to a taxi, and they shot it in December of 1960.

But they also shot the original ending-George's ending. That way, in postproduction, Blake would be able to see which one worked better. The final decision was his. And anyway, George was back in New York. "Blake shot both endings," says Patricia Snell, "but he picked the one he wanted. There wasn't much George could do about it during the production, but when it was done, he put his three cents in." What happened to the footage of Axelrod's ending-the ending that survives only in print-is a secret kept by the Paramount vaults, if it's kept anywhere at all. Perhaps it's gone for good. Perhaps not. Maybe it's mislabeled thirty feet under ground, and by some archival magic will turn up accidentally in years to come. But it's not likely. The cutting room floor is a graveyard.

THE CAT IN THE ALLEY.

"As a woman," film critic Judith Crist said in 2009, "if I could chop down my reactions, I would say that Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's was a progressive step in the depiction of women in the movies, perhaps unintended by Axelrod and Edwards. The woman in me really likes Audrey Hepburn because she is successful at what she's doing, she's sort of in charge of herself, and is a realist beyond being so cute and attractive. That appeal-a woman's appeal-comes from the very basic idea of the gamine, and not just the gamine's physical being, but the idea of her cleverness. Marilyn didn't have that, but Audrey did. As a gamine, shrewdness was available to her. So she's a call girl, but we let her have it. There's even something very appealing about it. We won't admit it, but don't we, really, all secretly admire her for it? Because she gets away with it? Because she's so imperious, and at the same time is slightly, shall we say, immoral? was a progressive step in the depiction of women in the movies, perhaps unintended by Axelrod and Edwards. The woman in me really likes Audrey Hepburn because she is successful at what she's doing, she's sort of in charge of herself, and is a realist beyond being so cute and attractive. That appeal-a woman's appeal-comes from the very basic idea of the gamine, and not just the gamine's physical being, but the idea of her cleverness. Marilyn didn't have that, but Audrey did. As a gamine, shrewdness was available to her. So she's a call girl, but we let her have it. There's even something very appealing about it. We won't admit it, but don't we, really, all secretly admire her for it? Because she gets away with it? Because she's so imperious, and at the same time is slightly, shall we say, immoral?

"If I could chop down my reactions one step further," Crist continued, "that's the added pleasure for me as a critic, and it's at the heart of why Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's is perhaps one of Audrey Hepburn's cla.s.sier achievements. Her previous performances are beautifully embodied, but marked by intelligence, breeding, and middle-cla.s.s grace-all qualities already familiar to us in Audrey. But not Holly Golightly. She was an impostor. That's why she's a multilayered character-Audrey's is perhaps one of Audrey Hepburn's cla.s.sier achievements. Her previous performances are beautifully embodied, but marked by intelligence, breeding, and middle-cla.s.s grace-all qualities already familiar to us in Audrey. But not Holly Golightly. She was an impostor. That's why she's a multilayered character-Audrey's first first. Not only that, but-and here's the woman in me again-a multilayered woman who isn't punished for her transgressions. When Bette Davis played the bad girl, she paid for it. That was the thirties-forties morality. Then there were things in the fifties like Love Me or Leave Me Love Me or Leave Me with Doris Day, which was the beginning of redemptive "wrongdoing," but its excuse was biography. with Doris Day, which was the beginning of redemptive "wrongdoing," but its excuse was biography. Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's was different. It was one of the earliest pictures to ask us to be sympathetic toward a slightly immoral young woman. Movies were beginning to say that if you were imperfect, you didn't have to be punished. But what's clever about the way they ended was different. It was one of the earliest pictures to ask us to be sympathetic toward a slightly immoral young woman. Movies were beginning to say that if you were imperfect, you didn't have to be punished. But what's clever about the way they ended Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's-this is, of course, my own feeling-is that you don't get the sense that the two of them will last forever. About George Peppard's character, I remember thinking, 'Well, he's not long for it. Just because you're going to give the cat a name doesn't mean that the cat isn't going to go back to the alley.' You see what I mean?"

THE RAINCOAT.

"Edith did the raincoat Audrey wears at the end of the picture," Patricia Snell recalled. "I was on the set the day they shot that scene, and Audrey knew that I had loved the raincoat and wanted to give it to me, but Edith had made it so difficult for Audrey to even get the raincoat that I didn't find out until years later when Blake said, 'Do you realize what Audrey went through to get you that raincoat?' I said, 'No, I didn't.' You see, Edith Head didn't want anyone giving costumes away. They made about six of them, you know, because you never know what's going to happen on a set. But she finally got it and wrapped it in a box and, boy, I was so thrilled to get it. I love it."

THE KISS.

Two dressing rooms were a.s.sembled for Audrey, especially for the final sequence-one for taking off her wet clothes, the other for putting on dry ones. They were labeled "Wet Hepburn" and "Dry Hepburn." When it came time for the kiss, Blake held out for eight takes, each one straining Peppard's neck more than the last. To give the camera the best view of the leading lady, the actor had to tilt his face just so, and the awkward angle, he claimed, threatened his look of rapture. (And the cat, meanwhile-a very, very wet cat-was stinking up the joint. That didn't make things any easier.) But they did it again (and again) with Audrey ducking into "Wet" and emerging from "Dry," and at long last, with the warmish studio rain pouring down around him, Blake Edwards had the last shot he wanted. High-angled and wide, his camera tilted down on Paul and Holly ensorcelled in a kiss. Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's was now a love story. Jurow and Shepherd-their fretting about star and subject officially behind them-had their old-fas.h.i.+oned happy ending in the can. Axelrod had his high comedy, Blake his lowbrow elegance, and Audrey Hepburn, who said she couldn't do it, had done it. was now a love story. Jurow and Shepherd-their fretting about star and subject officially behind them-had their old-fas.h.i.+oned happy ending in the can. Axelrod had his high comedy, Blake his lowbrow elegance, and Audrey Hepburn, who said she couldn't do it, had done it.

7.

LOVING IT.

1961.

ONE OF BENNETT CERF'S DINNER PARTIES In the days leading up to Tiffany's Tiffany's release, Joan and George Axelrod ran into Capote at one of Bennett Cerf's dinner parties in New York. As Joan told it, release, Joan and George Axelrod ran into Capote at one of Bennett Cerf's dinner parties in New York. As Joan told it, Truman was there and curious about how George felt about it [the movie]. George said, "I'm very happy with it, but I don't know how to break this to you...."Truman said, "What? What?""They're not going to stick with the t.i.tle."Truman said, "What?""They're not going to stick with the t.i.tle."Truman said, "What? They're not going to use the t.i.tle...?""I pleaded and begged but, Truman, there's nothing I can do about it. They're calling it Follow That Blonde Follow That Blonde."Truman fell for it hook, line, and sinker. George caught him at his own game. The moment Truman got it, he turned bright red. I've never seen him be so embarra.s.sed, because this was something he thought he was beyond. n.o.body could play a joke on him, him, n.o.body could lead him down that sort of garden path. He was totally furious. n.o.body could lead him down that sort of garden path. He was totally furious.He always liked George, but he was never really friendly with him after that and I think it had to do with that story.

ONE OF BILLY WILDER'S DINNER PARTIES Meanwhile, George and Blake were riding a few postproduction b.u.mps of their own. Though he swallowed Blake's ending without too much bitterness (it was sentimental, yes, but he agreed it was probably wise to give 'em what they paid for), Axelrod objected to the liberties Edwards took with the party scene. As the film's director, it was Blake's call, but with the question of authors.h.i.+p at stake and reputations on the line, it was going to take more than prerogatives to ease Axelrod's mind. "What Blake did with the c.o.c.ktail party upset George a lot," said Patricia Snell. "Blake just took it and ran with it and I'm not sure it's what George had in mind. It wasn't his."

Neither, for that matter, were Mickey Rooney's scenes. They incensed George. "Each time he [Rooney] appeared I said, 'Jesus, Blake, can't you see that it f.u.c.ks up the picture?' He said, 'We need comedy in this, and Mickey's character's funny.' But Mickey's character is a) not funny in that film, and b) he has nothing whatsoever to do with the G.o.dd.a.m.n story. I got Audrey to agree to re-shoot the last scene, which was the only thing she was in with Rooney, so I could cut out all the Rooney stuff. However, Blake kept it in."

"From there on," adds Snell, "the relations.h.i.+p between Blake and George was difficult. They never really [pause]...we were socially their friends, we would go to their parties, and they would come to ours, but Blake and George just never quite connected after that. We would see them every Friday night at the Wilders' dinner parties, and on the surface they remained friendly but, you know, that's the game people play in Hollywood." Had Axelrod been a producer on the picture, he could have kept a handle on his interests, but it was too late for that. All he could do now was smolder in silence.

After the fracas with Blake on Tiffany's, Tiffany's, Billy Wilder convinced Axelrod to finally pack up the kids and move to L.A. "Look," he said to George, "the time has come. You cannot sit in New York, see the finished product, then raise h.e.l.l about it. If you want to be involved in the making of a picture, you've got to be out here to do it." Billy was right. He could either stay a New York writers' sn.o.b in New York or become a New York writers' sn.o.b in L.A. where he could keep an eye on his scripts. That's what George was doing with Billy Wilder convinced Axelrod to finally pack up the kids and move to L.A. "Look," he said to George, "the time has come. You cannot sit in New York, see the finished product, then raise h.e.l.l about it. If you want to be involved in the making of a picture, you've got to be out here to do it." Billy was right. He could either stay a New York writers' sn.o.b in New York or become a New York writers' sn.o.b in L.A. where he could keep an eye on his scripts. That's what George was doing with The Manchurian Candidate, The Manchurian Candidate, which he and Frankenheimer had been talking about since the early days of which he and Frankenheimer had been talking about since the early days of Tiffany's Tiffany's. This time, he'd do it right. If they made it the way they should, the way he wanted to, The Manchurian Candidate The Manchurian Candidate would be the bleakest political satire America had ever seen. George became a coproducer. would be the bleakest political satire America had ever seen. George became a coproducer.

MANCINI IS READY TO SCORE.

With the studio system on the outs, big changes were happening in Hollywood. The Production Code Administration was loosening its strictures, a new morality was coming to the fore, and motion pictures, formerly ma.s.s entertainment, were on their way to becoming art. Cla.s.sical modes were fading fast, and Henry Mancini, whose sound struggled to keep apace with the cla.s.sical giants, was on the crest of the change. Now that the studios had canceled their own orchestra budgets, Mancini was allowed unprecedented access to unconventional instruments-the sort audiences wouldn't normally hear on a traditional movie sound track.

It was the dance band sound that thrilled Mancini, but he wasn't ready to forsake the old-guard conventions entirely. What he would do in Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's was combine both traditions, the symphonic and the jazz, and redeem the latter by the former. But rather than use the full-blown orchestras of scores gone by, Mancini reduced the number of instruments to an ensemble small enough to foreground the guitars, harmonicas, and cha-cha beats. was combine both traditions, the symphonic and the jazz, and redeem the latter by the former. But rather than use the full-blown orchestras of scores gone by, Mancini reduced the number of instruments to an ensemble small enough to foreground the guitars, harmonicas, and cha-cha beats.

At that time, most film scores weren't thought of as popular music. They were considered musical accompaniment, with little value apart from the picture. But Mancini had something else in mind. He wanted to make popular music-and he did. Weaving into Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's self-contained jazz themes of ideal radio-playing (and alb.u.m-selling) length, he became the first film composer to score big with the buying public. Not only did he reconceive and rerecord cues especially for the sound-track alb.u.m, Mancini advertised his catchy melody throughout the picture. He made "Moon River" a major thematic recurrence in self-contained jazz themes of ideal radio-playing (and alb.u.m-selling) length, he became the first film composer to score big with the buying public. Not only did he reconceive and rerecord cues especially for the sound-track alb.u.m, Mancini advertised his catchy melody throughout the picture. He made "Moon River" a major thematic recurrence in Breakfast at Tiffany's, Breakfast at Tiffany's, which only helped the tune, and the alb.u.m, climb their way to the top of the charts. which only helped the tune, and the alb.u.m, climb their way to the top of the charts.

After Audrey saw the film with the finished score, she wrote: Dear Henry,I have just seen our picture-BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S-this time with your score.A movie without music is a little bit like an aeroplane without fuel. However beautifully the job is done, we are still on the ground and in a world of reality. Your music has lifted us all up and sent us soaring. Everything we cannot say with words or show with action you have expressed for us. You have done this with so much imagination, fun and beauty.You are the hippest of cats-and the most sensitive of composers!Thank you, dear Hank.Lots of love,Audrey Too bad that Marty Rackin, who had reservations with Mancini from the word go, completely disagreed.

THAT f.u.c.kING SONG.

Breakfast at Tiffany's had just previewed at a little off-road theater near Stanford University, and Audrey, Mel, Blake, Jurow, Shepherd, and Henry Mancini were piled in a stretch limo headed back to Rackin's suite in San Francisco. had just previewed at a little off-road theater near Stanford University, and Audrey, Mel, Blake, Jurow, Shepherd, and Henry Mancini were piled in a stretch limo headed back to Rackin's suite in San Francisco.

For the most part, the preview had been a success. The proof was in the response notecards the audience had filled out; none of them seemed to indicate that there was any serious problem with the picture. The only real issue seemed to be the picture was running just a little too long, but other than that, the company ought to have been riding high for the forty-five-minute trip back into the city. And yet, not everyone in the caravan was at ease. Mel's jealousy was as high after a good preview as it ever would be, and as Fay McKenzie observed, this one was no exception. "After the preview," she said, "when everyone was telling Audrey how great she was-and she was, so wonderful-Mel said to her, [terse] 'I liked your hat.' He said it loud enough for everyone to hear and it made us all so uncomfortable. But Audrey just about laughed it off. I think probably to put us at ease."

When they got to the hotel, Marty Rackin was the first to speak.

"I love the picture, fellas," he said, tapping out his cigar on an ashtray, "but the f.u.c.king song has to go."

He was standing in front of the fireplace, with one long arm stretched across the mantle. They were all seated before him. No one spoke.

"The song had been an issue for Rackin for some time," said Shepherd. "It wasn't about Audrey's voice, it was something else. He wanted to use the music of a guy like Gordon Jenkins, whose alb.u.m Manhattan Tower Manhattan Tower had been a bestseller a few years earlier. But by that point we were all against it. After the screening in San Francisco, the only thing I wanted to change was the Mickey Rooney stuff. I had told this to Blake on several occasions, but he stood by it. He thought he was funny. But he could have gotten the same laughs from a j.a.panese actor. It disgusts me to think about it. And Marty [Jurow] didn't like it either. But we never went to the mat about it. That night, in Rackin's suite, it was obvious to all of us that he was way, way off base about 'Moon River.' Having been a studio head myself, I can only say that I think you're often inclined, instinctively, to comment, even when you don't have anything to say. Rackin was in that position." had been a bestseller a few years earlier. But by that point we were all against it. After the screening in San Francisco, the only thing I wanted to change was the Mickey Rooney stuff. I had told this to Blake on several occasions, but he stood by it. He thought he was funny. But he could have gotten the same laughs from a j.a.panese actor. It disgusts me to think about it. And Marty [Jurow] didn't like it either. But we never went to the mat about it. That night, in Rackin's suite, it was obvious to all of us that he was way, way off base about 'Moon River.' Having been a studio head myself, I can only say that I think you're often inclined, instinctively, to comment, even when you don't have anything to say. Rackin was in that position."

In Warren Harris's biography of Hepburn, Mancini says, "Audrey shot right up out of her chair and said, 'Over my dead body!' Mel had to put his hand on her arm to restrain her. That's the closest I ever saw her to losing control." But Mancini was mistaken; hostility, it's safe to say, was not in Audrey Hepburn's repertoire. What's more likely is that she protested silently or with a few tactful phrases, especially if Blake Edwards, who set the tone for the group, was himself keeping it all inside. "I looked over at Blake," Mancini reports in his autobiography. "I saw his face. The blood was rising to the top of his head, like that thermometer when I put a match under it. He looked like he was going to burst. Audrey moved in her chair as if she were going to get up and say something. They made a slight move toward Marty, as if they were thinking about lynching him." Clearly, Mancini's accounts are at odds.

It turns out it was Shepherd who saved the song. "I said, 'You'll cut that song over my dead body!' And Rackin heard that. The issue was resolved that night."

The song stayed. Swell music, fade out, the end.

Kind of.

THE KOOK.

Despite all the precautions taken by the production, from casting to scoring, to ensure that Holly would appear proper and well behaved, it's hard to forget all the evidence to the contrary, from Capote's novel to Givenchy's dress, that suggests Holly is a wild thing at heart. Though the picture ends when she kisses Paul in the rain, we cannot forget that to get there, she has forsaken her family, abandoned her husband, gone out with a lot of rich foreign men, and, worst of all, had a really good time throughout.

Paramount's Publicity Department knew this, and they were afraid. Afraid that all the euphemisms would be lost on ticket buyers, that they'd believe Audrey Hepburn had made an indecent movie and stay home in front of their TVs, where they were safe. To rea.s.sure the unsure, they built a campaign around "kook."

Derivative of cuckoo, "kook" was one of many pieces of fifties slang to give nonconformist eccentricity a positive spin. There was also "insane" and "mad," as well as "crazy," which had been in circulation since the crazy twenties, and as one might expect, made the idea of difference-a wildly pejorative concept in midcentury America-into an emblem of cool. Good jazz was craaazy craaazy. So was rock 'n' roll. But by the end of the fifties, kookiness had been appropriated into the mainstream; Madison Avenue spluttered it across print and radio, the TV show 77 Sunset Strip 77 Sunset Strip borrowed it for hepcat Gerald Lloyd Kookson III, and the musical comedy borrowed it for hepcat Gerald Lloyd Kookson III, and the musical comedy Bye Bye Birdie Bye Bye Birdie saw a throng of moist teenagers rioting under signs of "Birdie You're Really The Kookiest." But what did it mean exactly? saw a throng of moist teenagers rioting under signs of "Birdie You're Really The Kookiest." But what did it mean exactly?

Careful to make clear the distinction between a Beat kook-which the studio urged readers to acknowledge Holly was not not-and a fun kook-the kind nervous parents might enjoy-Paramount publicity whitewashed the term of its seditious connotation. Their press releases were quite clear about the distinction: Let's face it, now: what is is a "kook"? a "kook"?"Kook" is a word frequently employed by the offspring of this bewildered generation."She's a 'kook,' and all that jazz," they say. But what do they mean, dad?At the moment, the only authenticated, self-styled kook is Miss Audrey Hepburn who claims to be one as Holly Golightly in Jurow-Shepherd's Breakfast at Tiffany's.Holly Golightly keeps a fish in a birdcage. Holly Golightly takes breakfast on the sidewalk of Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue. Holly Golightly wears clothes designed by Hubert de Givenchy of Paris. Holly has a cat whose name is "Cat."But what's a kook?Kook is not, as everybody a.s.sociated with Breakfast at Tiffany's knows, a beatnik term. Couldn't be. The star is Audrey Hepburn, not Tawdry Hepburn.

Once on the set, an interviewer caught Audrey in the middle of knitting a sweater for Mel. She was quick to rea.s.sure the reporter-as he is quick to rea.s.sure his readers-that Holly was not the sort of part they might think it was. "When you publicize this unusual role," she was supposedly overheard saying to Blake, "please make it clear that I do not play a trollop; I play a kook." The British version of Photoplay, Photoplay, a well-circulated film fan magazine, reminded girls that there was no cause for alarm: a well-circulated film fan magazine, reminded girls that there was no cause for alarm: If you're an Audrey Hepburn fan-who isn't?-you may have some difficulty in picturing her as a New York playgirl. Miss Hepburn, an elegant thoroughbred, just doesn't look like the type of girl who would live strictly for kicks. Yet here she is, turning out the performance of her life, in a new picture, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Breakfast at Tiffany's, as-what the Americans call-"a real kookie dame!" as-what the Americans call-"a real kookie dame!"

Just in case the point wasn't clear enough, Paramount issued regular statements to the press underlining the not-so-subtle facts of the Audrey-Holly discrepancy, facts such as these: Since Miss Audrey Hepburn has never played any part that has suggested she was anything but pure, polite and possibly a princess, a hard look at Miss Golightly is in order.Miss Golightly is not, according to critics, an exact prototype for the excellent Miss Hepburn. Miss Golightly is, said Time, Time, "A cross between a grown-up Lolita and a teen-age Auntie Mame." She is, "A cross between a grown-up Lolita and a teen-age Auntie Mame." She is, Time Time goes on, "an expense account tramp...who by her own countdown has had only eleven lovers." goes on, "an expense account tramp...who by her own countdown has had only eleven lovers."At the same time, regarding this surprising waif, now to be re-created by Audrey, other critics found that Holly Golightly was more to be pitied than censored. The New York Times, New York Times, reviewing Capote's book and Holly Golightly, found them "A Valentine of love." The reviewing Capote's book and Holly Golightly, found them "A Valentine of love." The Was.h.i.+ngton Sun-Star Was.h.i.+ngton Sun-Star called her "unforgettable." called her "unforgettable."

So don't worry, moms. Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's is just a simple love story about a simple fun-loving girl. is just a simple love story about a simple fun-loving girl.

THE POSTER.

Before he got the call to design the Tiffany's Tiffany's poster, Robert McGinnis ill.u.s.trated paperback book covers, romances mostly. His women were typically slender, idealized, but with a hard edge that made them more elegant than voluptuous. "I preferred the more intelligent look of the fas.h.i.+on models of the early sixties to the Playboy types," he said. "That's how I could stand out from the other artists. They were doing, you know, a lot of blondes, a lot of Marilyns." poster, Robert McGinnis ill.u.s.trated paperback book covers, romances mostly. His women were typically slender, idealized, but with a hard edge that made them more elegant than voluptuous. "I preferred the more intelligent look of the fas.h.i.+on models of the early sixties to the Playboy types," he said. "That's how I could stand out from the other artists. They were doing, you know, a lot of blondes, a lot of Marilyns."

Somewhat out of the blue, McGinnis got a call from the art director Paramount had hired to design the Tiffany's Tiffany's poster. He asked McGinnis, who had no film poster credits to his name, if he was interested in contributing a few ill.u.s.trations. "The art director told me that all they wanted was a single figure, just this girl standing, but with a cat over her shoulder, and that she would be holding her long cigarette holder. They sent me a few movie stills to work with and I said, 'Sure, why not?' poster. He asked McGinnis, who had no film poster credits to his name, if he was interested in contributing a few ill.u.s.trations. "The art director told me that all they wanted was a single figure, just this girl standing, but with a cat over her shoulder, and that she would be holding her long cigarette holder. They sent me a few movie stills to work with and I said, 'Sure, why not?'

"The stills weren't really any good, so I sort of had to take a few leaps of my own. I was shooting pictures of a model for a book cover I was doing, and had her pose with the little orange cat I had back in those days. I put the cat on her shoulder, but the cat wouldn't stay, so she had to put her right arm up to hold it there. That was an accident. I didn't tell the model to put her hand there. It was just the only way she could keep the cat in place. That right there was the missing piece and it was the only variation from the many movie stills they gave me. Most of the photographs showed her with that hair, wearing those diamonds, and wearing that dress, so in the end, I didn't really stray too far from what they wanted and the direction they gave me.

"I did give the figure a little more through the hips and the bust, to idealize her just a little more. But the art director wanted more leg showing. In the photographs I got, Audrey's dress was long, all the way to the floor. But I was told to make her s.e.xier, so I exposed that leg. That came from the art director, but I'm sure he got it from the studio. He told me they wanted to establish that Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's was a movie about the city. They wanted a couple embracing with the skyline in the background, which they wanted to contrast with the elegance in the main figure of Audrey. But the main thing was the cat. They really wanted that cat in there." was a movie about the city. They wanted a couple embracing with the skyline in the background, which they wanted to contrast with the elegance in the main figure of Audrey. But the main thing was the cat. They really wanted that cat in there."

McGinnis didn't know it, but that cat, which was so important to the studio, was-as their explicit definition indicates-part of their spin on "kook." Without it, the figure of Holly in the Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's poster reads as simply seductive. The presence of the cat quite cleverly plays against that potentially alienating feature-and here's the key-without negating it. The studio's idea to contrast Holly with the couple embracing in the background substantiates the same tension. poster reads as simply seductive. The presence of the cat quite cleverly plays against that potentially alienating feature-and here's the key-without negating it. The studio's idea to contrast Holly with the couple embracing in the background substantiates the same tension. Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's is kookie, the poster says, but the good kind, the kind with an old-fas.h.i.+oned ending. is kookie, the poster says, but the good kind, the kind with an old-fas.h.i.+oned ending.

A TReS EXCLUSIVE ENTERTAINMENT.

The West Coast premiere was held at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood on October 17, 1961. The invitation-if you were lucky enough to get one-was dipped head to toe in Tiffany blue with a two-inch-tall Holly caricature drawn at the bottom right.

In addition, the envelope contained a little card: P.S. To my pet amis...After you've seen that marvelous "Breakfast At Tiffany's," I would adore to have you and your guest come right over to my apartment for Breakfast At Holly's-my friend Dave C's scrambled eggs, a snort of champagne and fun. Chez moi at the Hallmark House, 7023 Sunset Blvd., just a few blocks from the Chinese Theater. When you call for your premiere tickets, please tell me that you'll join my pet.i.t bash. [Signed, in blue] [Signed, in blue] Holly. Holly.

In attendance that October evening, a year and two weeks after cameras turned on Fifth Avenue, were Nat King Cole, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, Dennis Hopper, Buster Keaton, Ernie Kovacs, Alan Ladd, Charles Laughton, Jerry Lewis, Karl Malden, Jayne Mansfield, Lee Marvin, Groucho Marx, Eva Marie Saint, and Marlon Brando. Wink Martindale was the master of ceremonies.

Audrey, when she saw the movie, told her agent Kurt Frings it was the hardest-and best-thing she had ever done. But what would the critics think?

WHAT THE CRITICS THOUGHT.

The New York Times New York Times ("wholly captivating") and ("wholly captivating") and Variety Variety ("surprisingly moving") came out with hearty thanks for an all-around good time. A few quibbles were noted, but they were easily overcome by Audrey's addictive appeal, the supporting performances, and for ("surprisingly moving") came out with hearty thanks for an all-around good time. A few quibbles were noted, but they were easily overcome by Audrey's addictive appeal, the supporting performances, and for Times Times critic A. H. Weiller, a pair of inspired scenes: "A word must be said for the wild party thrown by Miss Hepburn and her visit to Tiffany's in which John McGiver, as a terrifyingly restrained clerk, solicitously sells a trinket for under $10: Both scenes are gems of invention." The uncharmed critics thought of critic A. H. Weiller, a pair of inspired scenes: "A word must be said for the wild party thrown by Miss Hepburn and her visit to Tiffany's in which John McGiver, as a terrifyingly restrained clerk, solicitously sells a trinket for under $10: Both scenes are gems of invention." The uncharmed critics thought of Tiffany's Tiffany's as a soft comedy with a limp ending, but none were livelier, or more prophetic, than Brendan Gill. His as a soft comedy with a limp ending, but none were livelier, or more prophetic, than Brendan Gill. His New Yorker New Yorker review, which began, " review, which began, "Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of those odd works that if they were any better would be a lot worse" ended with, "Millions of people are going to be enchanted with this picture; I will try not to feel lonely in my semi-detached enchantment." If only the human body could learn to shrug and applaud at once. is one of those odd works that if they were any better would be a lot worse" ended with, "Millions of people are going to be enchanted with this picture; I will try not to feel lonely in my semi-detached enchantment." If only the human body could learn to shrug and applaud at once.

No one seemed quite clear on the faithfulness of the adaptation. To one critic it was true in spirit, but not in fact; to another it was fact, not spirit; to this one it didn't matter because the picture worked; to that one, it mattered because it didn't. In the muddled free-for-all, moral agenda was often fobbed off as comparative a.n.a.lysis. As always, the central question was, was the film's Holly too clean or too dirty? Too sweet or too sultry? All manner of answers poured forth, but for Penelope Gilliatt, the correct response was, keenly, both and neither. She wrote, "The achievement of the film, as well as its hedging flaw, is that one leaves this unquestioned at the time." Jurow and Shepherd would have been happy to read Arthur Knight on the subject, who noted, "Blake Edwards and his talented crew have touched a tawdry romance with true glamour..."

Clean may have won the Sat.u.r.day Review Sat.u.r.day Review, but it was far from pervasive. Out of the cacophony came one Irving A. Mandell, whose letter to Hollywood Citizen-News Hollywood Citizen-News unearthed all the contentious taboos Team unearthed all the contentious taboos Team Tiffany's Tiffany's tried their best to bury. He wrote, "The tried their best to bury. He wrote, "The Tiffany Tiffany picture is the worst of the year from a morality standpoint. Not only does it show a prost.i.tute throwing herself at a 'kept' man but it treats theft as a joke. I fear 'shoplifting' will rise among teen-agers after viewing this." Lest we forget. Just when the Production Code was beginning to look archaic, folks like Mr. Mandell appeared to crash the party. Writing of picture is the worst of the year from a morality standpoint. Not only does it show a prost.i.tute throwing herself at a 'kept' man but it treats theft as a joke. I fear 'shoplifting' will rise among teen-agers after viewing this." Lest we forget. Just when the Production Code was beginning to look archaic, folks like Mr. Mandell appeared to crash the party. Writing of Tiffany's Tiffany's and the film and the film La Verite, La Verite, with Brigitte Bardot, Mandell a.s.serts, "Neither picture has a story which makes sense. There is nothing in either to make one sympathetic with the main characters (these women cannot possibly be called heroines)." with Brigitte Bardot, Mandell a.s.serts, "Neither picture has a story which makes sense. There is nothing in either to make one sympathetic with the main characters (these women cannot possibly be called heroines)."

WORKING GIRL.

When she graduated from Brandeis University in 1959, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, the future cofounder of Ms. Magazine, Ms. Magazine, was in need of a heroine. Right out of school, she started looking for a job in publis.h.i.+ng, but found, despite her qualifications, that she couldn't get one. "I had a BA in English," she said, "and an American Literature c.u.m laude and distinction and all these other things, but when I opened the was in need of a heroine. Right out of school, she started looking for a job in publis.h.i.+ng, but found, despite her qualifications, that she couldn't get one. "I had a BA in English," she said, "and an American Literature c.u.m laude and distinction and all these other things, but when I opened the New York Times New York Times want ads, I couldn't apply for the jobs that I was qualified for because I could only apply for the job in the 'Help Wanted: Females' column. All the junior editor jobs were in the men's column." want ads, I couldn't apply for the jobs that I was qualified for because I could only apply for the job in the 'Help Wanted: Females' column. All the junior editor jobs were in the men's column."

Letty finally landed a secretarial job at Simon and Schuster. A year later, she moved to a small publis.h.i.+ng house called Bernard Geis a.s.sociates where she advanced from a.s.sistant director of publicity, promotion, advertising, and subsidiary rights to director of each department. She was twenty-one. "I would take these editors out to lunch, but I had to establish charge accounts in these restaurants so men didn't see me signing the check. It was considered emasculating. I had to do all kinds of things to mask what was happening to make the men feel comfortable."

As the person in charge of promoting the soon-to-be-best-selling s.e.x and the Single Girl s.e.x and the Single Girl, Pogrebin trained author Helen Gurley Brown for her various interviews and media appearances. The two spent a great deal of time together, and before long, they forged a connection. "Helen was already married by the time I met her, but before that, she had led this fabulous single life for thirty-seven years." In her book, Brown was trumpeting a life of good times for the bachelorette, offering advice on everything from how a girl could add sensuality to her apartment, to advocating premarital s.e.x, and even outlining ways to leave Manhattan for a rendezvous with a married man. It was racy, with an overarching idea of modern womanhood that looked ahead to The Feminine Mystique The Feminine Mystique. But with more mystique. "Betty Friedan might have been embarra.s.sed to have Helen's book on her shelf," Pogrebin said, "but she definitely knew about it."

"I used to go to work in high-heeled shoes, gloves, hat, matching bag," she added, "and was very careful to always wear my hair in a bun. If my hemline was too high, I'd be sent home to change my dress. What I'm saying is, the demands of convention were merciless. I can't tell you what it was like, to be haunted by this set of feminine ideals wherever you went. Just imagine this: when I finally got married, I was the last one of my friends, and I was only twenty-four."

ONE OF SWIFTY LAZAR'S DINNER PARTIES When he wanted to, Truman could pour it on. "Sometime after the movie came out," remembers Patricia Snell, "I met Capote at one of Swifty Lazar's dinner parties and I drove him back to the Bel-Air Hotel because he was acting, you know, so nuts nuts. He was drunk or on drugs or something. He had created such a scene at Swifty's party and I lived by the hotel, so I took him. On the ride home he said, [slurring] 'it was a great, great thing to have your husband do the picture...' He told me he was thrilled with the end result, that he was really, really happy with the movie. Of course, I knew what he really thought."

For the rest of his life, when it didn't serve him to ingratiate, Capote would state his true position-a highly valid one-without reserve. "The book was really rather bitter," he said in a 1968 Playboy Playboy interview, "and Holly Golightly was interview, "and Holly Golightly was real real-a tough character, not an Audrey Hepburn type at all. The film became a mawkish valentine to New York City and Holly and, as a result, was thin and pretty, whereas it should have been rich and ugly. It bore as much resemblance to my work as the Rockettes do to Ulanova." Decades later, with a few beverages in hand, Truman really let loose to journalist Lawrence Grobel. When asked what he thought was wrong with the adaptation, he replied, Oh, G.o.d, just everything. It was the most miscast film I've ever seen. It made me want to throw up. Like Mickey Rooney playing this j.a.panese photographer. Well, indeed I had had a j.a.panese photographer in the book, but he certainly wasn't Mickey Rooney. And although I'm very fond of Audrey Hepburn, she's an extremely good friend of mine, I was shocked and terribly annoyed when she was cast in that part. It was high treachery on the part of the producers. They didn't do a single thing they promised. I had lots of offers for that book, from practically everybody, and I sold it to this group at Paramount because they promised things, they made a list of everything, and they didn't keep a single one. The day I signed the contract they turned around and did exactly the reverse. They got a a j.a.panese photographer in the book, but he certainly wasn't Mickey Rooney. And although I'm very fond of Audrey Hepburn, she's an extremely good friend of mine, I was shocked and terribly annoyed when she was cast in that part. It was high treachery on the part of the producers. They didn't do a single thing they promised. I had lots of offers for that book, from practically everybody, and I sold it to this group at Paramount because they promised things, they made a list of everything, and they didn't keep a single one. The day I signed the contract they turned around and did exactly the reverse. They got a lousy lousy director like Blake Edwards, who I could spit on! They got George Axelrod to do the script. I will say they offered it to me, but I don't like to do scripts of my own work, I prefer doing scripts of other people's. director like Blake Edwards, who I could spit on! They got George Axelrod to do the script. I will say they offered it to me, but I don't like to do scripts of my own work, I prefer doing scripts of other people's.

They didn't offer it to Truman. They offered it to a writer who wouldn't fight their changes.

"Truman was strongly opposed to the screenplay," Shepherd said. "But I only found out about that after the picture was released. We never had any day-to-day dialogue with him about the screenplay, directly or through his agent. Frankly, I don't recall having a single face-to-face meeting with Truman until the picture was going into release. After he acquired the novel, neither did Marty, but we were not obligated to share the development of the script with him."

ONE OF AKIRA KUROSAWA'S DINNER PARTIES "When I was an agent at CMA [Creative Management a.s.sociates]," said Shepherd, "one of my clients was Akira Kurosawa. I went to j.a.pan when he was directing his sequences for Tora! Tora! Tora! Tora! Tora! Tora! and when he realized that I had been involved with the decision to cast Mickey Rooney as a j.a.panese man, he almost couldn't talk to me. I felt awful. I was so embarra.s.sed. Here was Akira Kurosawa, one of the masters, and he had invited me to his home for dinner, where I watched his wife serve me on her hands and knees, and then [trails off]...it was...painful." and when he realized that I had been involved with the decision to cast Mickey Rooney as a j.a.panese man, he almost couldn't talk to me. I felt awful. I was so embarra.s.sed. Here was Akira Kurosawa, one of the masters, and he had invited me to his home for dinner, where I watched his wife serve me on her hands and knees, and then [trails off]...it was...painful."

Blake Edwards has since apologized. As for Rooney, he pleads ignorance. When the actor was alerted that a public screening of the film in Sacramento had been canceled in the wake of a substantial protest against Yunios.h.i.+, the Mick told the Sacramento Bee Sacramento Bee that he was heartbroken. He added that he hadn't received a single complaint about the portrayal since the film's opening. that he was heartbroken. He added that he hadn't received a single complaint about the portrayal since the film's opening.

LETTY COTTIN POGREBIN GOES ALL THE WAY.

"When Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's came out, it blew me away," Pogrebin said. "In those years, I really considered myself an alter ego of Holly Golightly. First of all, it was because she was so unlike the usual Hollywood caricature of a woman. She was a woman you wanted to be. Of course, she didn't have a profession and I was career oriented, so that was a little troublesome, but the fact that she was living on her own at a time when women simply weren't, was very validating to me. It was very affirming. Here was this incredibly glamorous, quirky, slightly bizarre woman who wasn't convinced that she had to live with a man. She was a single girl living a life of her own, and she could have an active s.e.x life that wasn't morally questionable. I had never seen that before." Inspired to adopt some of Holly's kookiness for herself, Letty went out and bought a scooter, a dog, a rabbit, and a little duck. came out, it blew me away," Pogrebin said. "In those years, I really considered myself an alter ego of Holly Golightly. First of all, it was because she was so unlike the usual Hollywood caricature of a woman. She was a woman you wanted to be. Of course, she didn't have a profession and I was career oriented, so that was a little troublesome, but the fact that she was living on her own at a time when women simply weren't, was very validating to me. It was very affirming. Here was this incredibly glamorous, quirky, slightly bizarre woman who wasn't convinced that she had to live with a man. She was a single girl living a life of her own, and she could have an active s.e.x life that wasn't morally questionable. I had never seen that before." Inspired to adopt some of Holly's kookiness for herself, Letty went out and bought a scooter, a dog, a rabbit, and a little duck.

"Back in 1961," she says, "all we had to represent change was a young male president. But morally, nothing had changed. We were exactly in the same place. Then came Audrey Hepburn, this very good girl-so it can't be wrong, right?-as Holly Golightly and she was wearing these gorgeous Givenchy gowns. And they were black!" Like thousands of other American women, Letty bought one, or one like it, for herself. Before long, her closet was filled with black dresses and black hats. "That's when I was starting to begin to think seriously about black. They weren't pink or lime green like they were supposed to be. They didn't have lace around the collar or little doily patterns. There was only one secretary at Simon and Schuster who wore black all the time and I thought she was dynamite. That was really something. Phyllis was her name."

I'D MARRY YOU FOR YOUR MONEY IN A MINUTE Letty and Phyllis were not alone. Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's was well on its way to grossing $4 million domestically, and $6 million worldwide. That wasn't monster money, but it was enough to earn Jurow and Shepherd hearty handshakes around the studio. They had delivered a popular film on time and at budget. Their star was pleased, the sound track was selling, and if they wanted to impress the barons of art, they could show them the was well on its way to grossing $4 million domestically, and $6 million worldwide. That wasn't monster money, but it was enough to earn Jurow and Shepherd hearty handshakes around the studio. They had delivered a popular film on time and at budget. Their star was pleased, the sound track was selling, and if they wanted to impress the barons of art, they could show them the New York Times New York Times review. "See? It's good! It says so right review. "See? It's good! It says so right here here!"

That year, Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's was nominated for five Academy Awards. There was one for Audrey (Best Actress), George Axelrod (Best Adapted Screenplay), the film's team of art directors, and there were two for Henry Mancini-Best Score, and Best Song, which, if he won, he would share with Johnny Mercer. Jurow and Shepherd weren't nominated, but they might as well have been; without them, those who were nominated never would have gotten their jobs. That right there was so much of producing. Putting the right people on the movie. was nominated for five Academy Awards. There was one for Audrey (Best Actress), George Axelrod (Best Adapted Screenplay), the film's team of art directors, and there were two for Henry Mancini-Best Score, and Best Song, which, if he won, he would share with Johnny Mercer. Jurow and Shepherd weren't nominated, but they might as well have been; without them, those who were nominated never would have gotten their jobs. That right there was so much of producing. Putting the right people on the movie.

THE ENVELOPE PLEASE.

Audrey flew to Los Angeles from Switzerland to attend the Oscar ceremony only to be confined to her hotel room with a sore throat. She watched it all in bed.

Though he wasn't nominated, Blake Edwards accompanied his team to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, the honorable Bob Hope presiding. That night, Blake didn't have the jitters of a nominee, but he was still tense.

George Axelrod, try though he did to laugh it off-the bulls.h.i.+t of the business and all that-wanted to win as much as anyone else. If he were a long shot that night, he might have been able to relax more, but the cruel fact of it was George had a chance-a good chance. Three weeks earlier, he'd picked up the Writers Guild Award for Best American Comedy, for which he had been nominated three times prior (The Seven Year Itch, Bus Stop, and and Phffft Phffft). Having never won until now, George finally had that gold-getting blend of momentum and freshness. It was just the combination to sway undecided Academy voters.

Mancini and Mercer arrived together. Their limo pulled slowly through the crush of screaming youngsters and stopped in front of the red carpet. A moment later, the door was held open, and out came Hank and Johnny, accompanied by their wives, Ginny and Ginger. But the screaming died when they showed their faces to the crowd. No, they weren't Elvis.

Inside the auditorium, the couples took their seats on the aisle, the Mercers in front of the Mancinis. To their utter shock, they were seated on folding chairs that weren't only hard on their backs, but creaked throughout the ceremony, which, incidentally, was the longest in the Academy's thirty-four years of Oscar. As is customary, the nominated songs were performed. Andy Williams sang "Moon River," which had already become his theme.

As Tony Martin and Cyd Charisse took to the stage, Mancini braced himself. Listening to the names of his fellow nominees roll by, he was reminded that he was in the company of (and up against) legends, each and every one of them. The names Rozsa, Stoloff, Tiomkin, and Elmer Bernstein were packed side by frightful side, and then there was his name-Mancini-blaring out like a b.u.m note from a tuba. How could he even compete?

There was silence as the envelope was opened. And then Mancini heard his name again-"Henry Mancini"-this time followed by heavy waves of applause, which grew louder the longer Hank stayed frozen in his chair. Every face in the auditorium turned back toward him, Ginny kissed his cheeks, and Mancini bolted up. He was not thinking now, he was running.

Seconds later he was onstage. This was it, his first Oscar.

"I'm deeply grateful to the members of the Academy and my good friend Blake Edwards. Thank you."

And after that, he was onstage again. But this time, Johnny Mercer was standing next to him.

"I've said my bit," Mancini said, "go ahead."

Mercer edged up to the microphone. "I'd like to say that I'm very proud that you liked our song. I'd like to thank you, Audrey; thank you, Andy; and martinis for everybody."

"Thank you," Mancini added.

That night, those two Oscars for Best Song and Best Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture were the only two wins for Breakfast at Tiffany's Breakfast at Tiffany's. George lost to Abby Mann for Judgment at Nuremberg Judgment at Nuremberg. So did Tiffany's Tiffany's art directors lose, but to art directors lose, but to West Side Story West Side Story. And Audrey Hepburn, along with Piper Laurie, Natalie Wood, and Geraldine Page, lost to Sophia Loren for Two Women Two Women.

Audrey smiled it off. George was devastated. But when he was asked, he told everyone that it didn't matter. The bulls.h.i.+t of the business and all that.

AFTERGLOW.

At the party to follow, Blake gave as many congratulations as he received. With his wife on his arm, he pa.s.sed through the ballroom on the precipice of glory, offering phony and sincere strains of deference in switch combinations that surprised even himself. Handshakes, backslaps, and across-the-room waves were exchanged around like a hooker at an all-night orgy, and by the end of the evening, as he tried to remember how or when his bow tie got untied, Blake wouldn't be able to recall what he said to whom. His wife, Pat, dutifully reminded him that the evening's successes were rightfully his to share, and yet there was no getting around the fact that Breakfast at Tiffany's, Breakfast at Tiffany's, no matter how good, wasn't really A Blake Edwards Movie. Yes, the c.o.c.ktail party was his. The ending was his, too, but he wouldn't tell people that. Going around claiming credit for it would just make him look greedy, and gallantry was Blake's preferred mode of manipulation. no matter how good, wasn't really A Blake Edwards Movie. Yes, the c.o.c.ktail party was his. The ending was his, too, but he wouldn't tell people that. Going around claiming credit for it would just make him look greedy, and gallantry was Blake's preferred mode of manipulation.